The Pacific Championships final at CommBank Stadium came down to a battle between the knockout sluggers in the red corner and the clinical technicians in green and gold.
Australia absorbed the heavy blows of the Tongan behemoths to ultimately prove too strong in a pulsating trophy decider in front of a sold-out stadium dominated by the supporters clad in red who sung, screamed and willed their team throughout the 80-minute slugfest.
Ultimately it was the class of Kangaroos duo Tom Dearden and Tom Trbojevic which proved the difference with the Cowboys five-eighth and Manly fullback moonlighting at centre at the forefront of Australia’s courageous performance under heavy fire.
The 20-14 win restored Australia’s standing as the undisputed kings of international rugby league after they were flogged 30-0 by New Zealand in the corresponding match 12 months ago but nothing is certain anymore when it comes to rep footy.
Tonga, with young guns like Isaiya Katoa, Tolu Koula and Lehi Hopoate in the early stages of their NRL and international careers, will only get better in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, particularly if the likes of rejuvenated veterans Jason Taumalolo and Felisa Kaufusi can keep turning back the clock whenever they pull on the red jersey of their beloved Pacific nation.
Dearden’s the Magic Man
The tip sheet for Dearden before every match should resemble a Bart Simpson chalkboard gag.
I will not fall for Dearden’s show and go.
I will not fall for Dearden’s show and go.
I will not fall for Dearden’s show and go.
I will not fall for Dearden’s show …
Like Cal Naughton jnr’s Shake and Bake, it is his trademark move, guaranteed to cause bewilderment.
His signature move led to two tries on Sunday with Tongan defenders falling for his sleight of hand – at this level, it’s these kinds of slip-ups which can be the difference between winning and losing.
“His confidence has grown over three games, and his belief that he belongs in this arena,” Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said. “He belongs in that No. 6 jersey and he was outstanding today.
“But it’s all around Tom, believing in Tom and once he gets that on a regular basis, he’s going to be a terrific player. Sometimes it takes players a while to believe that they belong in this environment.”
A brutal battle from start to finish
Isaiya Katoa enhanced his claims to being the NRL’s next superstar with a couple of class plays to kick off the match.
Firstly he blindsided Angus Crichton with a tackle from behind to force the ball loose in the sixth minute and from the ensuing set, he conjured up the first points of the match.
He drifted right to get around Dearden, drew in Dolphins teammate Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to create a break for Sione Katoa to finish off in typical high-flying fashion in the corner.
The Kangaroos did well to absorb the punishment being dished out by the Tongans and Dearden’s show and go worked a treat near halfway in the 16th minute for Tabuai-Fidow to equalise.
Dearden and the Hammer combined again down the left edge in the 26th minute with the centre managing to offload to an unmarked Xavier Coates despite being engulfed in a two-man tackle for an 8-4 lead.
Australia were up by 10 less than five minutes from the break when Dearden again mesmerised the defence by feigning to pass before darting through a gap with Tom Trbojevic streaking away to the stripe.
Trbojevic thought he had another four-pointer just before the break but his put-down was somehow denied millimetres from the turf by the hand of Manly teammate Lehi Hopoate, who could turn out to be the most talented member of his footballing family.
Dearden and Turbo were at it again just four minutes after the interval when the Cowboys playmaker split the defence off a Harry Grant around-the-corner pass and found his right centre roaming on the left to make it 20-4.
Panthers centre Paul was taken off with a dislocated elbow in a blow to Tonga’s hopes of making an unlikely comeback from 16 points down.
In a sign of the Tongan team fatiguing and the Aussies finishing strong, Sione Katoa was run down on a long-range intercept and seven Kangaroos got back in defence before any red jerseys loomed in support on the attack.
And the visitors coughed up the pill on the next play.
A Tui Lolohea grubber presented Haumole Olakau’atu with a try just before the hour mark to cut the gap to 10 and ensure there would be no cruising to the finish for the Kangaroos.
Tonga threw everything they had at the Aussies, including a bone-rattling hit from Kaufusi which caused Patrick Carrigan to turn the ball over.
Olakau’atu went within less than arm’s length of scoring with eight minutes left but Isaah Yeo dislodged the ball just when the Manly forward looked like reaching out to the stripe.
Eliesa Katoa managed to just get the ball down when the Bunker overruled the on-field call of no-try to make it a six-point deficit with as many minutes remaining but the Australian defensive line managed to hold out the Tongan wave in the closing stages to hang on to win an instant classic.
Tom Dearden makes a break during the Pacific Championships final at CommBank Stadium. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
“I’m very proud of our blokes, I thought our effort was outstanding, and that’s the only thing I can ask for,” outgoing coach Kristian Woolf said in his last Test before taking over from Wayne Bennett at the Dolphins.
“There were chances that we didn’t get right and that makes it a little bit different.We just didn’t quite execute.”
Meninga deserves to see Kangaroos through to Cup
If the Kangaroos had lost the Pacific Championships final for a second year in a row, serious questions would have been asked about whether Meninga is the right coach to take them to the 2026 World Cup.
But after conquering Tonga to reclaim the trophy after last year’s 30-0 final wipeout at the hands of New Zealand, the Raiders Immortal deserves to see the job through.
His predecessor, Tim Sheens, was punted in 2015 on the back of just two straight losses after winning 26 of his previous 29 matches in charge.
Coaching the Kangaroos is no longer the guaranteed win machine that it once was with Tonga and Samoa now ranking alongside the Kiwis and England as genuine threats every time they take the field.
Ask 10 league fans if they think Meninga can coach and you will likely get an even split between yes and no with various reasons to support arguments for the positive and the negative.
He had modest results coaching Canberra soon after he retired in the late 1990s but then won 20 of 30 Origins during Queensland’s nine from 10 golden run from 2006-15.
Australia are now 24-4 under his reign with two World Cup trophies under Meninga’s watch.
Whether he snares a third as coach in two years’ time is far from the fait accompli of the dark days of international rugby league but after refreshing his squad with several new faces for this tournament, Meninga has earned the right to build around this team in a bid to again rule the now ultra competitive rugby league world.
Forward pass vs tip-on
Trbojevic was denied a try in the 47th minute when the grey in rugby league’s black and white rulebook reared its ugly head.
Tabuai-Fidow tapped the ball onto Coates in the lead-up to Tommy Turbo’s touchdown but referee Ashley Klein signalled to the Bunker to rule on whether it travelled forward.
Much to the chagrin of protesting Kangaroos fullback Dylan Edwards, he explained that because it was a tap-on, the Bunker could rule on whether it went forward.
“You’ve got to take possession to pass the ball,” Klein said.
The ball likely was propelled slightly towards the opposition goal line from the Hammer’s finger (nails) but next time a try is allowed from an obvious forward pass, it’s going to be very hard to explain to the fans why it could not have been overruled. (Of course, NRL head of football Graham Annesley will do just that).